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New LEO/MEO Earth Station Antennas Cut Operational Costs

New LEO/MEO Earth Station Antennas Cut Operational Costs

06 Mar 2017

Next generation Cobham solution introduces significant reduction in total cost of ownership combined with industry leading high throughput, tracking accuracy and RF performance

Washington, DC - Cobham has introduced a new
disruptive technology platform for its expanded line of Sea Tel
land-based tracking antennas. Designed as an enabler for the new
breed of emerging high throughput LEO/MEO constellations that
leverage cutting-edge CubeSat and SmallSat spacecraft, Cobham's new
tracking antennas lower the total cost of ownership by
significantly reducing power consumption, in addition to delivering
tangible savings on deployment and maintenance. Uniquely, Cobham's
next generation solution is delivered as a complete, integrated
system including radome, antenna controller, feeds and customer
specific RF (BUC and LNB) in addition to a built-in auto-tracking
feature, improving link performance and contributing to higher
throughput and availability of service for the end-user.

Currently available for L, S, C, X, Ku, Ka and E-band with
antenna reflector sizes between 60 cm to 6 m, Cobham's new Tracker
range has re-written the land-based tracking antennas rulebook.
Developed from the bottom up to merge over 20 years of Sea Tel land
tracking antenna experience with Cobham's cutting-edge maritime
antenna stabilisation technology, the life-time cost savings
facilitated by the new Tracker series supports established network
operators and venture-funded start-ups to deliver even more
competitive high-throughput satcom services for diverse users.
Cobham has also addressed the traditional long lead time to
delivery in the land-based tracking antenna segment, committing
significant capacity to supporting mobility and growth in the
LEO/MEO markets.

Headlining the unique new Sea Tel Tracker product line
feature-set is Cobham's new 3-Axis Zero Gravity technology for land
antennas, which balances the entire system to deliver a step-change
in power consumption for Cobham customers. The solution co-locates
the antenna's centre of gravity with its centre of rotation,
resulting in an effortless track that requires almost no power.
Regardless of size, all new Sea Tel Tracker antennas consume just
200 Watts, with further saving possible through the use of a
500-Watt back-up generator, compared to the >5KW back-up
generator needed for competing antennas. A 90% reduction in capital
outlay to provide power infrastructure can be achieved, while an
87%1 power consumption saving is typical.

The Cobham development team has considered all aspects of the
total cost of ownership for the new Sea Tel Tracker range resulting
in even more savings, including on the cost of site preparation and
antenna deployment. Traditional land tracking antennas of over five
meters in size require substantial foundations (up to 15ft) in
order to ensure the antenna can operate and survive in high winds
as well as negate shift in the base over time as the foundation
settles. Due to the perfect balance of the system, Cobham's new
tracking antennas can operate in winds up to 155 mph, installed on
just a 12 inch thick concrete grade pad with minimal rebar. They
can even be installed temporarily on a bed of gravel while still
maintaining a strong link to the network. This is achieved by
automatic calibration routines which compensate for the movement of
the base over time.

"The significant time and personnel commitment required to
assemble antenna systems greatly contributes to the cost of system
installation," said Kirby Nell, Business Manager Large VSAT,
Cobham SATCOM. "Traditional land tracking systems can
take several months to build the foundation, pull power cables,
install automatic power supplies and finally install the precision
aligned and levelled antennas. It's a complex, costly task, but
Cobham has developed a better and simpler approach. Sea Tel Tracker
antennas can be built by two skilled technicians in a matter of
days. We have a heritage of being able to assemble systems quickly
and easily for the maritime market, which informs our approach to
deployment of the Tracker range."

Further life-time cost savings for LEO/MEO network operators
have been achieved by simplifying and reducing the requirements for
on-site maintenance. Uniquely designed as a single unit, housing
all components in the radome itself, the Sea Tel Tracker product
line provides industry-leading Mean Time Between Failures (MTBF),
so fewer engineer visits are required during the antenna's
lifecycle. Cobham's sophisticated system design and intelligent
component selection has simplified the overall system architecture,
so many standard maintenance tasks take less than an hour, while
many service issues can be handled remotely.

"By renewing our land tracking antenna technology platform,
we can provide satellite network operators the ability to achieve a
massive reduction in their operational overheads," adds Pete
Blaney, Chief Engineer, Cobham SATCOM. "Lowering the total cost of
ownership across the network development and operational stages to
such a level, our new Sea Tel Tracker range is set to become a
catalyst for the industry to develop and implement more disruptive
services that are not only possible at a new price-point for the
network owner but will also help to bring costs down for end-users,
while increasing performance and availability of service."

- ends -

1 Cobham Trackers use 200 Watts compared to
competitor solutions' 1500 Watts. Assuming a 90% duty cycle per day
at electricity cost of $.21per KWH, Cobham Tracker power
consumption cost is $324 per year. Competing solutions power costs
can be $2449, making a saving of 87% per year for Cobham Trackers.
In a high cost location, electricity can be five times more
expensive than the above example, making it possible to save
approx. $10,000 per year. Over a typical 30 year life cycle, the
power consumption reduction provided by Cobham's Tracker series can
potentially save owners $300,000.

Editor's note:
Cobham is exhibiting at Satellite 2017: Booth# 1701.

About Cobham SATCOM

Providing dependable communications and internet access
anywhere under the most demanding conditions.

Our satellite and radio communication terminals perform in the
most challenging and remote environments on land, at sea and in the
air.

We design and manufacture these high performance products under
the AVIATOR, EXPLORER, SAILOR and Sea Tel brands providing
customers with outstanding performance, value and support through
our global sales and service network.

About Cobham

The most important thing we build is trust.

Cobham is a leading global technology and services innovator,
respected for providing solutions to the most challenging problems,
from deep space to the depths of the ocean.

We employ around 11,000 people on five continents, and have
customers and partners in over 100 countries, with market leading
positions in: wireless, audio, video and data communications,
including satellite communications; defence electronics; air-to-air
refuelling; aviation services; life support and mission
equipment.

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